


Home Is Where My Heart Is

by writequeenwalks



Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018) Actor RPF
Genre: Dad Ben
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:40:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25057108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writequeenwalks/pseuds/writequeenwalks
Summary: Ben sees how stressed work has made you, and decided to take on more parenting responsibilities to help you
Relationships: Ben Hardy/Reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	Home Is Where My Heart Is

**Author's Note:**

  * For [basketcase1880](https://archiveofourown.org/users/basketcase1880/gifts).



> This was written for basketcase1880 for the Bohemian Rhapsody Summer Event. I hope you like it!

Ben having the career he did made having a family difficult at times, but now you couldn’t be more thankful. He was home while The Voyeurs was finishing up editing, your little girl, Genevieve, was happy to have her daddy home. You’d gotten married not long after Bohemian Rhapsody aired, and now with Pixie coming out, you would be bringing your daughter who was now four months old. But the world had different plans. A global shutdown meant Ben was out of work until it opened back up, and you were working from home as much as you were able to, keeping mostly your same work hours. Ben was more than happy to take on the extra parenting, and it gave him a chance to spend more time with his sweet girl. 

You worked with clients over telehealth and zoom in your office in the mornings and finished your paperwork in the afternoons, that was the plan. What you hadn’t expected was Ben asking for advice every few minutes.  
“Babe? She won’t eat, what do I do?” he asked, walking in with your crying baby all red-faced.  
“She’s probably fussy because she needs a diaper change” you commented as you muted yourself in the meeting with your boss. “I love you so much dear, but I’m in a meeting right now.”  
“Alright” he sighed and walked into her nursery. You loved your husband dearly, you really did, but balancing your marriage with work was difficult beforehand, now with the pandemic and the new baby, it felt like you were drowning. 

“Come on sweet girl, let’s try this again yeah?” he cooed as he picked her up and placed her over his shoulder after her diaper change and changed her into a ladybug onesie. He took her into the living room and sat at the couch and placed the bottle at her lips once more, sighing in relief when she took it into her mouth. “Thank you” he whispered. “I want to show your mum I can handle being a dad, especially when I know she’s so stressed with work” he explained softly, being met with sparkling green eyes just like his and soft sighs. “I know the world we brought you into is a hell, and I want to make things better for you.” After she finished her bottle, Genevieve snuggled into the crook of her dad’s arm and fell asleep. Ben looked down and smiled softly before getting out his phone and making a call. 

“Hello!” the man answered cheerily. Ben sighed in relief and whispered as loudly as he could while not waking the baby.  
“Joe! I’m so relieved. I need parenting advice.” Joe laughed at his frantic state.  
“You remember I’m not a dad, right?” he joked, earning an eye roll from bed.  
“But you’re good with kids. Look, she just fell asleep but she’s been fighting me nearly all morning. She didn’t want me to hold her, she wouldn’t take a bottle- I’m not good at this whole parenting thing. (Y/n) almost snapped at me because I interrupted her meeting, and I just don’t know how to be a dad” he lamented. Joe nodded along and listened to his friend adamantly. “She finally ate and she fell asleep, and I want to show (Y/n) that I’m capable and that I can keep this tiny human alive, but I haven’t been around her enough to know what she needs!”  
“Okay, golden rule for babies: usually they’re either hungry, wet, or hot. Try those things first, and go from there. What’s she wearing?” he tilted the camera down so Joe could see her.  
“It’s the one Lucy picked out for her! Okay that’s just adorable. And those little curls, you’re making me want one!” he smiled, tears pricking the corners of his eyes.  
“I’m glad I’m home with them for a while, I just hate that it’s making (Y/n) so stressed. She’s not used to seeing her clients through a computer so she’s having to explain and educate more than treat.” As he explained, the cogs started turning and his face beamed in a bright smile “Joe, thanks for your help, but I gotta go do something.”  
“Alright, call anytime!” he said and hung up the phone. Ben looked down at his sleeping daughter once more and quietly stood up, carrying her over to her bouncy swing in the kitchen. He quickly turned the swing on, rocking Genevieve slowly, and made his way to the cabinets, scanning over all the staple ingredients he had before opening the fridge. He formulated a list and purchased a few more items from his nearest grocery to be delivered that afternoon, and he smiled. He sat down on the floor next to the swing.  
“We’re gonna do something so nice for mummy. Can you be a good girl and not tell her?” he whispered softly, answered by a steady rising and falling of his sleeping daughter’s chest. “I thought so.” He looked at the clock and figured he would make him and (y/n) a quick lunch. He quickly put together your favorite salad and poured a glass of lemonade and sent you a quick text.  
I made you some lunch, can I bring it in?  
I’ll be out in 10, just finishing up.  
He nodded and began working on his own lunch when Genevieve whimpered before loudly crying. He dropped everything on the kitchen table, leaving the fridge open and picked her up.  
“Oh sweet girl, what is it? What do you need?” He quickly checked her diaper. “Ah, I see, come on, let’s get you dry then baby love.” he said, carrying her into her nursery. After a change, she was still fussy. “Maybe we should go outside?” he asked softly, carrying her out to the back balcony. You both had agreed that the balcony was the furthest she was going in the outside world until the pandemic was over. You weren’t about to risk her safety. He placed her over his shoulder and gently patted her back as he shushed her. She still writhed against him, cries only getting louder. Did I burp her after she ate? He patted her back a bit harder, hoping that would help, and sighed when she burped. He smiled but his smile very quickly faded as he felt something running down his back. He quickly pulled her off of him, and she smiled up at him, spit up covering her face. “Guess we both need a change then” he sighed, and took her into the house. He grabbed one of the clean onesies he’d left in the laundry room and forgot to put away and took her into his bedroom. He laid her on the bed and threw his shirt inside out into the clothes hamper and fished around in his dresser drawer for a clean one.  
“Ben” he heard you call out, and grunted in response. You walked into the bedroom to see your shirtless husband and infant daughter and smiled. “Spit up?” you asked knowingly. He nodded and picked out a shirt, slipping it over his torso. You had already moved to change Genevieve, and he smiled tiredly. “I was going to do that,” he said softly, and you turned to him with soft eyes.  
“I know. But I can change her too. Thank you for lunch, but why was the fridge open?”  
“Ah shit!”  
“Language!” you whisper yelled.  
“I was making a sandwich and she started crying so I changed her and then we went out on the balcony and well...here we are. I didn’t want you to rush things with your client so if you heard her crying, I wanted to show you I can be a responsible dad.” he explained, watching as your expression changed to gratitude.  
“Thank you. I understand. Just, don’t let the milk spoil either if you can help it” you laughed. It had been so long since he had seen you laugh. The pandemic made you both on edge, and the baby crying at all hours didn’t help. You picked your daughter up and walked back to the kitchen, pulling her swing over to the table and placing her in it while you ate. He walked back in, finished his sandwich and sat next to you.  
“When will you be done tonight? I was gonna make dinner” he asked after a minute. You nodded and sat your glass down.  
“Probably about 7. I have to finish my documentation and score the evaluation I gave.” you stated. He nodded and smiled.  
“I can work with that.” This was some of your favorite times with Ben, the domesticity. You’d never really had too much of it because of how you both worked, but having him home for so long was turning into a blessing. You smiled at your husband, almost shyly like when you’d been dating. He didn’t miss it.  
“What?” he chuckled as he sipped his coffee, peering over the brim of the mug.  
“Lunch dates, we haven’t had any in so long” you smiled. “Remember when the waiter spilled my entire bowl of chilled soup on my pants?” you laughed, making Ben’s eyes go wide. He laughed as he sat down his mug.  
“How could I forget! I gave you my jacket to wrap around your waist and I brought you back to my place and you borrowed my joggers while I washed your clothes. I’ve never seen a waiter apologize so much in my life” he smiled. Genevieve cooed from her swing, getting both of yours attention. “I still can’t believe we made something so beautiful.” You smiled widely, tears pricking your eyes.  
“Me either. Thank you for making me a mother.” you said as you gently brushed her curls out of her face.  
“I think she says you’re welcome,” he smiled. You shook your head.  
“I meant you. You gave me the most precious gift ever. Thank you.” He blushed and pulled you into his lap.  
“You’re welcome, love.” he smiled, nuzzling your neck. The doorbell rang, effectively ruining the first romantic moment with your husband since the baby was born. “I’ll get it” he said and sat you in his chair as he got out of it. He quickly went to the door and tipped the delivery girl before walking back into the kitchen with three bags.  
“What’s that?” you asked, nodding towards the bags. He turned his back to you, placing them on the countertop.  
“Dinner” he smiled, tuning his head to the side so you could hear him. You nodded and went back to finishing your salad. Genevieve had fallen back asleep in her swing, and Ben put away the groceries.  
“I have to get back to work” you sighed, sad that you had to hole yourself up in your office away from your family. Ben strided over and took you into his arms.  
“Not much longer now, honey. I’ll have dinner ready by then and we can maybe watch a move when we get Genny to bed. You have the next couple days off anyway, it’s okay. You go treat patients, my smart girl. I’ll hold down the fort.” You laughed at his exaggeration and made your way back to your office. Ben smiled as he watched you leave, happy to have spent even so much as a half hour with you, and turned his attention back to Genevieve. She yawned as she woke and he picked her up and carried her to the couch.  
“How about a little educational tv?” he asked as he turned on Baby Einstein. He’d never admit it, but he enjoyed watching those videos as much as she did. He found them relaxing. He took a picture of her intently watching it as she laid against a pillow on the couch, and sent it to the group chat with Rami, Joe, and Gwil. They all responded nearly instantly, always happy to see their niece. He was happy that they had all wanted to be so involved in her life, and he was more than happy to make them honorary uncles. 

When the movie ended, Ben fed her another bottle and burped her, hoping to avoid another incident, and changed her before he got started on dinner. He’d gotten everything to make spaghetti carbonara along with fresh bread and a salad. He got the bread in the oven and began chopping vegetables for the salad. While he did, he sang along to the baby playlist he kept on hand to keep Genevieve entertained. He paused long enough to dance to Penguin Party, truly taking on the form of a dancing penguin, and earning a giggle from her when she saw her daddy acting so silly. He then kissed her cheek before starting on the spaghetti. He made sure that she wasn’t near the stove when he began cooking on the stovetop, and constantly asked for her opinion.  
“Mummy likes her wine with dinner sometimes, what do you think, red or white tonight?” she babbled incoherently when he bent down with two wine bottles. “I think the white too. You’re going to be my sous chef one day baby love, I’ll get you a proper apron and everything.” Once dinner was finished, he sat everything on the table, fixing the plates and dimming the lights. He lit the candelabra and turned on soft Italian music. True to your word, you came out a few minutes before 7, excited to have dinner with your husband, but you weren’t expecting the entire scene. You walked into the kitchen in shock and awe at the dinner he’d made. He just smiled smugly and pulled your chair out for you.  
“Do you like it?” he asked. You only nodded, as you were still unable to form words to describe how you were feeling. He kissed your cheek and poured you a glass of wine. “I wanted to do something nice for you, you’ve been working so hard lately, and I know how stressed you are. I know it’s not much, but I wanted to show you how much I appreciate you and how lucky I am to have you as my wife.” Your barely contained tears spilled at his words, and all you could do was turn around and hug him while sobbing into his chest. He held you there, kissing the top of your head until you let go. He then wiped your tears and sat down next to you for dinner.  
“Even when the world falls apart, you find a way to make it better. Thank you” you said as you leaned over to kiss him.  
“Just doing what I can for my family. I love you (Y/n), more than I could ever say.”  
“I love you too Ben. Thank you for everything, it’s perfect.”  
“Anything for my family.”


End file.
